Board decides to end its partnership with Qatar Foundation
NT Bureau
Doha: In a significant development, Texas A&M University has ended its partnership with Qatar Foundation after more than 20 years.
The Qatar campus will close by 2028, the university said in a statement on Thursday, following a vote by its board of regents.
Texas A&M University’s Doha-based campus has graduated over 1,500 engineers, formed vital collaborations with industry, and generated pioneering engineering and sustainability research.
The conclusion of the partnership was announced following a decision by the Board of Regents of Texas A&M University.
“The board has decided that the core mission of Texas A&M should be advanced primarily within Texas and the United States,” chairman Bill Mahomes said in the statement. “By the middle of the 21st century, the university will not necessarily need a campus infrastructure 8,000 miles away to support education and research collaborations.”
It said that the university will assemble a team to ensure students complete their education before its closure in Qatar and to support its faculty and staff. Texas A&M also said it will fulfill its research obligations within the next four years.
“Over the last two decades, the Qatar campus has advanced ideals, graduated exceptional Aggie engineers, and is cemented as an important legacy of Texas A&M,” General (Ret.) Mark A. Welsh III, president of Texas A&M University, said in the statement.
“As we look to the future of our land-, sea- and space-grant university, the global exchange of research and education will continue to be integral to our world-class campuses here in the U.S,” he added.
TAMUQ opened its campus in 2003 to join five other American universities operating in Education City, a hub for learning and research which has attracted international students, academics and researchers.
Qatar Foundation (QF) has confirmed its commitment to ensuring continuity of education for current students from Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMUQ) which was established in 2003 and the continuation of engineering studies at its Education City campus.
